These are the remarkable scenes left behind after huge mudslides buried hundreds of vehicles in California.

Heavy storms in southern parts of the state triggered flash floods and mudslides which flowed onto nearby roads.

Terrified motorists were forced to flee their vehicles in pelting rain and hail - with hundreds of cars and trucks now left buried waste-deep in the dirt.

The chaos began yesterday and authorities are now left with a huge clear-up job to clear the roads and recover abandoned vehicles .

Chaos: Drivers fled their vehicles in fierce storms (Image: Getty)

Shock: Drivers returned to the incredible scene this morning (Image: Getty)

Nick Zennick became stuck on Interstate 5 in the Tehachapi Mountains and posted videos of the panic on Instagram.

He told CNN: "it was super scary at first because it kept coming and we were next to some heavy rocks.... Some cars got really messed up by huge boulders."

Eye-witness Rhonda Flores said: "It was terrifying.

"It was a raging river of mud.

"I've never experienced anything like it, ever."

The Los Angeles Times reported that some 45 firefighters responded to the scene of the mudslides and flooding, working to free drivers who were stranded in their cars.

Clear-up: Authorities now face a huge job to clear the road (Image: Getty)

The rushing water, which was triggered by several inches of rain an hour over the foothill communities, forced the California Highway Patrol to close parts of the busy Interstate 5 freeway in both directions.

Sgt Mario Lopez, a spokesman for the California highway patrol, said: "I've never seen anything like this before.

"The whole side of the hill just came down onto State Route 58 ... There's no highway."